Priest wins 2023 National Biography Award for ‘My Tongue Is My Own’

Ann-Marie Priest has won the 2023 National Biography Award for My Tongue Is My Own: A life of Gwen Harwood (La Trobe University Press).

Priest wins $25,000, while the other shortlisted authors receive $2000 each.

Judges Suzanne Falkiner, Rick Morton and Mandy Sayer praised Priest’s ‘scholarship and analysis’, ‘perceptive understanding of an elusive subject’ and ‘creative approach’.

‘Ann-Marie Priest has captured completely the sprite-like nature of one of Australia’s finest poets; a woman who used a fierce intellect and penchant for trickery to upend dusty institutions that steadfastly refused to see women as capable or talented,’ said senior judge Falkiner. ‘Through these pages, the great poet feels so alive.’

The Michael Crouch Award for a Debut Work, worth $5000, was awarded to Tom Patterson for Missing (A&U).

Last year’s winner was Bernadette Brennan for Leaping into Waterfalls: The enigmatic Gillian Mears (A&U).

For more information about the award, visit the State Library of NSW website.

Category: Awards Local news